ROSSI MAKES PERFECT FINAL CURTAIN CALL
31 October 2004 - Yamaha Racing

Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) secured an incredible ninth win of a glorious championship winning season after a hard fought battle at today''s Valencia Grand Prix.

Down in sixth after a tricky start, Rossi used his improving pace to good effect, ultimately winning by a margin of 0.425 seconds ahead of second-placed rider Max Biaggi (Honda) and final podium finisher, Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Rossi broke through the three hundred point barrier with his Valencia victory, scoring a total of 304, despite two non-finishes this year.

Rossi''s team-mate Carlos Checa had an eventful sign-off race for the Factory team, with which he has ridden for six years. The Spaniard crashed out, remounted, and finally fought hard for a 14th place finish and two championship points. These were sufficient for Checa to keep seventh place in the championship overall.

After his difficult start Rossi immediately set about reducing the margin of advantage enjoyed by early leader Makoto Tamada (Honda), and on lap six he made a determined inside pass to lead the race for the first time. A gritty duel between the pairing saw Tamada pass on turn one of lap seven, leading the ranks ahead of Rossi, Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Biaggi. To the rapture of the 122,000-strong crowd, Rossi went back into a final leading position with a pass on the entrance to the last chicane.

Rossi and Checa''s combined season efforts on track, and the behind-the-scenes labour of their crews and Yamaha''s engineers, delivered the Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha squad the Teams'' Championship, with a total of 421 points.

The Fortuna Gauloises Tech3 riders Marco Melandri and Norick Abe had a tough time here in Valencia during the final race of the 2004 season. Abe managed a top ten finish while luckless Melandri crashed out of contention while trying to avoid another rider.

Abe''s tenth place was not enough to satisfy the evergreen Japanese star; a change in tyre choice for the race prevented him from continuing the early race charge he was making from his fifth row start.

Marco parted company from his YZR-M1 when he was trying to avoid getting involved in a Loris Capirossi (Ducati) ''moment'' on lap ten. He was lying 12th when the front-end folded on him as he made a bid to steer clear of the fellow Italian.

Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) first
''To win nine races has been unbelievable for everybody and we also won the team award, which was not so bad either! The finish of the season was perfect for us, three in a row. It was more difficult for me today than in Sepang and Phillip Island because I find this track worse than them. I slid at the start and lost some time but after two or three laps I was able to recover. Tamada was looking very strong, and I had a tough fight with him until he slowed and dropped back. My rhythm improved and I was able to push 100% to the end. Then there was a fight with Biaggi behind, and he was very strong. It is unbelievable to win here, and wonderful in front of this crowd. This year really has been unforgettable for me, my mechanics and Yamaha.''

Carlos Checa (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) 14th
''I couldn''t quite go at the speed of some of the other riders and I think I pushed the front too hard and then fell. I got restarted because even though the bike wasn''t perfect after the crash I wanted to get some points for the team championship. It was good because I also scored enough points to keep seventh place in the table. This was my last race with Yamaha so quite an emotional day, now I will start a new era.''

Davide Brivio, Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha team director
''I don''t need to say too much about what this year means because it is obvious. We won the first race and the last race and nine races in total. We were first in the riders'' championship and the teams'' championship, and won the qualifying competition. It is difficult to imagine anything better. We have to say thank you to Valentino, and to all the team and engineers for the fantastic job. They should all feel proud to have been part of this project this year. Also thanks to Carlos because even if he fell off, he got back on and fought all the way, as he knew that the points he scored were important to all of us. We wish him well for his future.''

Jeremy Burgess, Valentino Rossi''s crew chief
''I have to say that we didn''t expect to have to win so many races to win the championship but it turned out that way, due to a couple of tumbles and finishes off the podium. We had to get as many points as we could so we had to win as many races as we could. Now we can look forward to next year.''

Norick Abe (Fortuna Gauloises Tech3) tenth
''The first few laps were quite good and I made some places up, but just as I was catching Nakano the front-end began to slide and then I nearly crashed. I lost my grip on the ''bars and from then on it wasn''t so good. We tried a soft tyre on the front and it didn''t work well. Okay, so it''s a top ten finish - but I''m not happy.''

Marco Melandri (Fortuna Gauloises Tech3) DNF
''I saw Capirossi lose the front-end and I tried to brake and lean my bike over a bit more to avoid him - and crashed myself. I was doing okay at the beginning of the race but then I found myself a bit short of acceleration - and that''s what you need a lot of here. It''s not how I wanted to finish the season.''

Hervé Poncharal, Fortuna Gauloises Tech3 team director
''It''s been a tough year and I''m glad it''s over. We had the high points of two podium finishes at Barcelona and Assen, so we''ve got some good memories to keep. But it''s sad to finish the season on a low note like today. The whole weekend has been difficult, but Norick rode well today and we''re glad to see him get into the top ten. We all hope to see him in MotoGP again next year. Congratulations to Valentino and Yamaha for their achievements this season.''

Race classification MotoGP
Round: 16 - Valencia Grand Prix
Circuit: Valencia
Circuit Length: 4005
Lap Record: 1'' 32.815 (Max Biaggi, 2004)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'' 32.815 (Max Biaggi, 2004)

Race: 30 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 47'' 16.145
2 M. Biaggi Honda ITA +0.425
3 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS +3.133
4 S. Gibernau Honda ESP +6.128
5 M. Tamada Honda JPN +7.768
6 A. Barros Honda BRA +14.675
7 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +23.315
8 C. Edwards Honda USA +27.441
9 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +29.403
10 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +31.537
11 A. Hofman Kawasaki GER +40.951
12 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +1'' 2.014
13 J. McWilliams Aprilia GBR +1'' 4.637
14 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +1'' 8.042
15 N. Hodgson Ducati GBR +1'' 9.364

Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 M. Biaggi Honda ITA 1'' 32.815

Championship standings MotoGP

Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 304
2 Sete Gibernau Honda ESP 257
3 Max Biaggi Honda ITA 217
4 Alex Barros Honda BRA 165
5 Colin Edwards Honda USA 157
6 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 150
7 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 117
8 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 117
9 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 117
10 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 83
11 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 77
12 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 75
13 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 74
14 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 71
15 Alex Hofman Kawasaki GER 51


Manufacturers standings MotoGP

Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Honda 355
2 Yamaha 328
3 Ducati 169
4 Kawasaki 95
5 Suzuki 73
6 Aprilia 39
7 Proton KR 15
8 Harris WCM 12
9 Moriwaki 7

Race classification GP250
Round: 16 - Valencia GP250
Circuit: Valencia
Circuit Length: 4005
Lap Record: 1'' 36.398 (Shinya Nakano, 2000)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'' 35.885 (Marco Melandri, 2002)

Race: 27 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 44'' 10.176
2 T. Elias Honda ESP +8.086
3 R. de Puniet Aprilia FRA +27.412
4 F. Battaini Aprilia ITA +31.620
5 C. Davies Aprilia GBR +34.059
6 F. Nieto Aprilia ESP +34.784
7 R. Rolfo Honda ITA +40.352
8 N. Matsudo Yamaha JPN +46.761
9 H. Faubel Aprilia ESP +46.770
10 A. Baldolini Aprilia ITA +58.235
11 D. de Gea Aprilia GER +1'' 3.287
12 A. Vincent Aprilia FRA +1'' 5.615
13 J. Smrz Honda CZE +1'' 6.024
14 A. Debon Honda ESP +1'' 6.858
15 J. Olive Aprilia ESP +1'' 10.842

Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'' 36.957

Championship standings GP250

Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 317
2 Sebastian Porto Aprilia ARG 256
3 Randy de Puniet Aprilia FRA 214
4 Toni Elias Honda ESP 199
5 Alex de Angelis Aprilia SMR 147
6 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 128
7 Fonsi Nieto Aprilia ESP 124
8 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 116
9 Manuel Poggiali Aprilia SMR 95
10 Franco Battaini Aprilia ITA 93
11 Anthony West Aprilia AUS 88
12 Alex Debon Honda ESP 82
13 Chaz Davies Aprilia GBR 51
14 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia FRA 42
15 Naoki Matsudo Yamaha JPN 41


Manufacturers standings GP250

Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Honda 354
2 Aprilia 344
3 Yamaha 44

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